Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike set to miss out on first France senior call-up | OneFootball

Liverpool centre-forward Hugo Ekitike (23) is not expected to be called up by France national team manager Didier Deschamps for Les Bleus‘ upcoming 2026 World Cup group D qualifiers, as per a report from Le Figaro. France will face Ukraine on Friday, September 5, at Wroclaw’s Stadium in Poland. Four days later, France will host Iceland at Paris’ Parc des Princes.

Deschamps will announce his squad list this Wednesday at 2 pm CET at the French FA’s Paris headquarters. The 1998 and 2018 World Cup winner is not expected to give Ekitike his first senior France call-up, despite the striker’s red-hot form with Liverpool. Ekitike has scored three goals in as many games with Arne Slot’s Premier League champions.

The report understands that Deschamps’ staff believes it is “too soon” to give Ekitike his first tour of Clairefontaine’s castle. Furthermore, the time is not ripe for Deschamps to expand his attacking options given the 2026 World Cup is just months away, and that France are in a four-team group with little margin for error.

Le Figaro understands that Deschamps is already content with his centre-forward options, which include Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé, PSG’s Ousmane Dembélé and Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram. The other attacking players set to be called up are Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki, Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise and PSG’s Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval